Sunnyland Slim (real name Albert Luandrew) was born in Mississippi, and took the great migration to Chicago, like many of his fellow bluesmen. He became one of Chicago's greatest blues pianists and cut many tracks with dozens of musicians including Sonny Boy Williamson and Muddy Waters.

This track is from the 1964 American Folk Blues Festival which was held in various places in Europe (this one specifically from the UK show).

Master bluesmen Willie Dixon and Hubert Sumlin are on the bass and guitar respectively on this low down blues.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

It takes quite a lot of skill and technique to play shred guitar (playing rapidly with quick successive notes and sweeps, scales and arpeggios); I certainly don't have this ability. Shred guitar is not only used to to effect in certain musical genres like metal, but, in my opinion, to also show off in front of people.

We've all been in that situation where in a jam session someone will be the 'guitar master' and will shred the guitar so hard that it looks like it will explode and will leave everyone in awe. Unfortunately to many, it seems that if you don't have such skills, it means you suck as a musician.

To me, I can care less if people play better than I do (of course it doesn't hurt to be an all round musician) but I play what I like and feel. It's not just about skill, but also about the message. I've been in situations where I've played with great classically trained musicians but they were playing off of sheet music while I was winging it. They were rigid. I was flexible, and had more fun because I was playing what I felt, and not what someone else told me to play.

It's about taste.

So what if you got a shredder and put him in a blues situation? Again, the skills are top notch, but musically, I call it wanking, because all I hear is a barrage of notes flying at me with that distorted humbucking destruction. The blues is not about technical showmanship, as most of the old (and new) blues musicians were not musically trained and they learned how to play just by imitating others. It's about the song and the feeling; blues solos have some breathable space in between.

Sunday, March 23, 2014

"Kokomo" was a popular brand of coffee back in the day, and was the subject of Francis "Scrapper" Blackwell's first recorded blues in 1928. When slide guitarist James Arnold covered that song as "Old Original Kokomo Blues" for the Decca record label in 1934, little did he know that this would soon become his permanent stage name: Kokomo Arnold.

Arnold recorded 88 tracks for Decca in the 1930s and was an influence on Robert Johnson, however he quit the music business in disgust in 1938 and went into factory work in Chicago. He was rediscovered there by blues researchers in 1962, but didn't show much enthusiasm for reviving his musical career, and certainly did not resume recording. Kokomo Arnold died of a heart attack at the age of 67.

This next song from 1935 is a gritty blues number, about murder and serving jail time, as such:

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Under the name Pinewood Tom, blues singer and guitarist Joshua White records Prodigal Son in New York City, USA. White, who used the Pinewood Tom pseudonym for his non-religious blues material, will later find greater fame as Josh White, singing in a folksier idiom.

Josh White was very influential in both blues, folk and gospel, and therefore a lot of musicians across the spectrum learned from him.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

The legendary classic rock band Led Zeppelin have announced that their first three albums, Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin II, and Led Zeppelin III, will be remastered and re-released on June 3.

The albums will come in several packages, like a special box set, single or double CD's, 2 vinyl versions, and digital download. The extra content will be an unreleased live concert audio for Led Zep 1, and studio outtakes for Led Zep 2 and 3.

Led Zeppelin remain one of the biggest rock bands ever, and of course their blues influence is very profound.

Here's 'The Lemon Song', featured on Led Zeppelin II, which is a blues nod to Howlin' Wolf; who incidentally sued the band for copyright infringement on his song 'Killing Floor'; and he has since then been credited on the song.

Monday, March 10, 2014

The Voice of America (VOA) has uploaded a special report video about blues music; speaking about the history and it's influences on music, and features several clips of live music playing. The report was prepared by Greg Flakus, who is from Texas and discusses Lightnin' Hopkins, who is a Texan as well. The International Blues Challenge is also shown, and Joe Whitmer of the Blues Foundation tells him a bit about it.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

"In the spirit of International Jazz Day, organizers select a venue with rich historical significance, representing jazz’s ability to connect disparate traditions and cultural identities. In 2014, Osaka, Japan’s beautiful Osaka Castle Park will host more than 30 world-renowned performers and an audience of thousands in celebration of the third annual International Jazz Day.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

The Beatles, during a troubled time of the band in 1968, released what is now known as The White Album (it's actually a self-titled album). In that album, is one (for me at least) standout track, called 'Yer Blues'.

Written by John Lennon while the band was in India, the song came about as Lennon put it: "trying to reach God and feeling suicidal". The song is pretty much your standard blues, but with a twist near the end where slow tempo picks up and George Harrison plays the slide guitar solo. Also, it's noted that this was one of the few times Paul McCartney played the Fender Jazz Bass on record.The lyrics are also your standard Lennon too:

Lonnie Brooks, currently at age 80, is a pioneering blues guitarist and vocalist from Louisiana; having started his career in Texas before moving to Chicago in the early 60's. He has performed with dozens of musicians including BB King, Jimmy Reed, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, and many others.

Monday, March 3, 2014

Voodoo is a religious belief which combines African, Caribbean, French and other national traditions, and while it is mostly based in Haiti (and is considered an official religion) it has deep roots in New Orleans, Louisiana, where almost 15% of the population admit to practicing it. Voodoo was brutally repressed by slave-owners, yet its powerful beats, ethics and aesthetics endured. Since New Orleans has a distinctive place in blues and jazz; and we draw the origin references to voodoo from it.Some, especially in the Arab world, view Voodoo as an evil cult, with gruesome descriptions of human sacrifice and black magic; a perfect match with the music that is the Blues.

Much of the lore of voodoo in the blues comes in the form of using magic spells, seeing gypsy women (fortune tellers), and putting curses on others who were treatin' us bad, mostly as a sign to show the mysterious and sometimes mystical side of the music. Here are a few voodoo references in blues music:

I Got my Mojo Workin' - Muddy Waters

"I'm going down to Louisiana to get me a mojo hand; I'm gonna have all you women right here at my command"

Mojo Hand - Lightnin' Hopkins

"I lay down thinking, Buy me a mojo hand; I did wanna fix my woman so she can't have no other man."

Sunday, March 2, 2014

This week, we will delve into one of blues most famous standards, 'Born Under a Bad Sign', by Albert King.

Recorded and released by the legendary Stax record label, 'Born Under a Bad Sign' is considered the quintessential Albert King song. It was recorded with the Booker T & The MG's as the backup band; which is a winning combination.

It's listed in the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame as one of the '500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll', and is was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in the "Classic of Blues Recording, Singles or Album Tracks" category .

The original 1967 album version.

The riff is what gives the song wide appeal to both blues and rock fans. Dozens of musicians covered it,

such as Cream:

Jimi Hendrix (as an instrumental)

Robben Ford:

and.... HOMER SIMPSON (seriously)

Stay tuned for more standards, hope you liked the little tidbits for this song this week!